Firearm



Patented F eb. 8, 1944 s FIREARM y `lohn E. Sweany, Sonoma, Calif.,assignor to Remington Arms Company, Inc.,

of Delaware a corporation Application December 30, 1939, Serial No.r311,775

(Cl. Lft2-69) 8 Claims.

This invention relates to firearms and particu#l larly the re controlmechanism thereof.

In the use of shoulder and hand guns it is deA sirable that the actionof the trigger and the ring mechanism be such that the trigger pull willbe smoooth and that the person using the same as he pulls the triggerwill not be aware of the precise moment at which the gun will re.Previously this has required a smoothness of iinish of the operatingparts or a design that eliminates notches or uneven places over whichone of the parts must be pulled by the trigger. It is likewise necessarythat a sufficient force be required to be exerted upon the trigger toinsure safety in the use of the weapon so that it will not re before theuser wishes to re the gun or has it vaimed properly. For safe purposesit is generally considered that a trigger pull of three pounds is theminimum desirable. It is also necessary that the parts be so arrangedand constructed that the gun will not be accidentally fired by a suddenjar or by dropping. The invention contemplates an improvement inprevious triggers by the provision of a mechanism in which the triggerhas a very small travel and in which there is no perceptible movementafter the trigger has been pulled suiciently to release the firingmechanism. Excess movement after the trigger has released the ringmechanism and the usual free movement accompanying the same, due to thefact that the tension ofl the striker spring and the friction of thesurfaces is not being pulled against` causes the user of the gunfrequently to pull the gun momentarily 01T the desired aiming point,resulting in poor marksr'nanship. The movement of the parts in theoperation of the invention is such as to give the desired smooth triggerpull with the minimum of machining and fitting of the parts.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprises certainnovel devices and arrangements of devices representative embodiments ofwhich are shown in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevation partially in section showing one form of triggermechanism mounted in a conventional firearm.

Fig. 2 is an elevation partially in section showing the details of thetrigger mechanism of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an elevation partially in section showing the details of amodification of the trigger mechanism of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an elevation partially in section showwill continue to itsineffective ing the details of another modification of the triggermechanism of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the spring and auxiliary sear of Fig. 4showing the relation of the partsas the auxiliary sear is rotated. A

In the conventional rearm, a striker or other impact means', usuallyoperated by a spring, is employed to cause a ring pin to strike. theprimer of la cartridge placed in the chamber of the gun. In a boltaction rifle, for example, o peration of the parts, such as the openingof the bolt, pulls the striker backward and compresses the strikerspring. A sear holds the striker or impact firing device in a vcockedposition in readiness for releasing to re the cartridge. The sear inturn is operatively connected to a triggerv'in such a Way that when thetrigger is'pulled, the sear releases the impact firing means, allowingit to go forward to cause the cartridge to be red. The sear, whichcontacts the striker or impact firing device inA this invention, may bepivotally mounted in such a manner that the force ofthe striker springacting upon the sear tends to rotate the sear to an inelective position,thereby releasing the striker. An intermediate means is provided to holdthe scar in its effective position against the action of the strikerspring, and a trigger with associated mechanism disengages the auxiliarysear when the trigger is pulled. Means are employed to limit the motionofthe trigger -so that the movement thereof will be small and the motion`after the sear has been released will be substantially nil. Theauxiliary sear, once it has been released by the trigger, position underthe inuence of the movement of the pivoted sear. It is to be understoodthat Where the word striker is used herein, that itmeans any springpressed ring device used to cause the ring of the cartridge. It is alsoto be understood that the fire control andtrigger mechanism disclosedherein may be applied to any of the conventional type firearms, eithershoulder` or hand guns.

Referring now to Fig.y 1 in detail, Hl is a conventional barrel having achamber ll into which a cartridge l2 may be inserted, a rimre cartridgeof the conventional type being shown for thel purpose of illustration. Afiring pin i3 is capable of being driven forward by a striker spring itacting through the striker or other mea-ns l5, upon release of thestriker by the sear l5. As pointed out, however, this sear may contactany type of spring pressed mechansim. used to re the cartridge. Forpurposes of illustration, a conventional rotating bolt l'I is shownwhich contains the striker and spring parts just described and which canbe rotated and drawn backwardly to extract the cartridge, eject it andto open the chamber for the loading of new cartridges either by hand orfrom the magazine 66. A receiver I8 may have the barrel I fastenedthereto in any conventional manner, the receiver carrying the bolt andits component parts just described. A stock I9 is provided which has arearwardly extending part 20 of a conventional type Aand onto which thereceiver and associated parts are held by the bolts 2l and 22. A triggerguard 23 is provided which surrounds the trigger 24. A frame 25 is ttedinto the receiver and aperture in the stock, said frame carrying thetrigger, sear and related parts about to be described. It is to beunderstood, however that the frame is not necessary for the properfunctioning of the invention, as the parts may be mounted directly inthe receiver or in any other desired manner. The sear pivot pin 2liy maybe used to support the frame in position Ain the gun, and at the forwardend of the frame a sear housing pin 21 may be employed to hold the frontend of the frame in position and may also have otherdesired functions,such as to hold the ejector in position.

l Referring more particularly to Fig. 2 which is a sectional view of thetrigger mechanism shown in Fig. 1, the sear I6 is pivotally mounted onsear pivot pin 26, the engagement of the face 28 with the strikershoulder 30 being such that the force of the striker spring I4 tends torotate the sear I6 in a counter-clockwise direction or to ineffectiveposition. A stop pin 3l may be provided to limit the movement of thesear in an upward direction, and a sear spring 32 tends to move the searto its effective position, said spring being adjustable by the screwmeans 33. An auxiliary sear 34 is pivoted at 35 and the face 36 thereofengages the face on shoulder 31 of the sear I6 to hold the sear in itseffective position. The auxiliary sear spring 38 tends to rotate theauxiliary sear in a clockwise direction and to effective positionblocking the movement of the sear. The screw 39 serves as an adjustablemeans for the auxiliary sear spring 38. The trigger 24 is pivoted at 40and is connected to the auxiliary sear by means of the connecting link4|, said connecting link fitting into an aperture 42 in the auxiliarysear 34 and in aperture 43 in the upper end of the trigger 24, the fitin these apertures being a loose fit for the purpose that will appearpresently. The movement of the trigger 24 is limited by the triggeradjusting screw 44 and the trigger stop screw 45. In operation, assumingthat the striker has been retracted and is held in cocked position bythe sear in readiness to be fired, the auxiliary sear 34 will contactthe face 31 of the sear, holding the sear in its effective position.Upon pulling the trigger 24, the movement thereof will be transmittedthrough the loose connecting link 4| to the auxiliary sear 34, rotatingthe auxiliary sear in a counter-clockwise direction against the tensionof auxiliary sear spring 38. As the face 3B of auxiliary sear leaves theface 31 of the sear, the striker spring will rotate the sear in acounter-clockwise direction and towards the ineffective position. Theauxiliary spring 38 will allow the auxiliary sear to continue itsrotation in the counter-clockwise direction under the influence of thesear as it continues its downward movement, even though the trigger hasbeen stopped by the trigger stop screw 45, the loose connecting link 4Iand its loose mounting in the apertures 42 and 43 of the auxiliary seartation of the auxiliary sear.

and trigger, respectively, allowing this further ro- In the adjustmentof the trigger mechanism, the striker is placed in the cocked position,the trigger stop screw 45 retracted and the adjusting screw 44 advanceduntil the trigger mechanism is released. At this point, the trigger stopscrew 45 may be tightened so that the trigger will only move to thepoint at which the sear is released. Then the adjusting screw 44 can beretracted to give the desired trigger movement which, as can be seen,may be very smal although the movement of the trigger can be adjusted toany amount desired. Adjusting screw 39 may be adjusted so as to give thedesired pull necessary on the trigger to release the sear. The relationof the surfaces 35 of the auxiliary sear and the surface 31 of the searmay be such that a substantially sliding motion takes place as thetrigger is released, giving a smooth action to the mechanism. Thesesurfaces are made parallel, as shown, when at rest and are arranged sothat the sliding motion is substantially between smaller surfaces. Theangle of contact of the striker and the sear is made such that thecomponent of force directed downwardly and acting between surfaces 36and 31 is small. The force acting between said surfaces is also lessenedby the sear spring 32. If desired, by rearrangement of parts, thecontact between the sear and auxiliary sear may be made to occur at agreater distance from the pivot point 26 of the sear than the point ofContact of the sear and the striker. This would then give a stillsmaller load between the faces as the moments about the pivot 26 wouldbe the same and the lever arm to the point of contact of 3f and 31greater than the other arm with the resultant smaller force existingtherebetween. In the forms shown in Figs. 3 and 4 such an arrangement oflever arms is found. These factors combine to give a smooth trigger pulland allow adjustment of spring 38 to accurately give that desired.

Referring now to Fig. 3, a modification of the form shown in Figs. l and2 will be described. A frame 45 thereof performs a similar function tothe frame 25 of the modification in Figs. l and 2, and may be held inplace in the gun by the pivot pin 26 and sear housing pin 21 or in anyother suitable manner. The sear 41 is similar to the sear I6 of Figs. 1and 2 and is acted upon by the striker in a similar manner, which tendsto rotate it to the ineffective position. An auxiliary sear 48 isprovided to prevent the movement of sear 41 to ineffective positionuntil o-perated by the trigger. The sear 48 has a surface 49 whichcontacts the surface 5l) of the sear 41. A pin 5I serves to guide theauxiliary sear 43 in its sliding movement and is located substantiallyunderneath the point of contact of the auxiliary sear and the sear, thusrequiring a positive sliding movement by the trigger to release thesear. The extension 52 of the auxiliary sear 48 fits into a suitableaperture 53 in the end 54 of the trigger 55, said trigger being pivotedat 56. A spring 51 is attached at one end to the auxiliary sear 48 andat the other end to the end 54 of trigger 55, said spring tending topull the auxiliary sear towards the end 54 of the trigger 55, but beingyieldable for the purpose which will appear presently. The trigger 55has a spring 58 which is integral therewith and may be made by machininga slot in the solid material of the end 54 of the trigger 55, therebyseparating the free end therefrom, and may be heat treated if necessaryto impart the proper spring tension thereto.

An adjustable screw 59 with aconical point. 60 bears against the freeend of the spring 58 and the. tension exerted upon the trigger 55 may beadjusted by moving the screw 59 toward or away from the spring. Anadjustable trigger stop 6l and adjustable trigger means S2 is providedsimilar to those described above for Figs. 1 and 2, and the trigger isadjusted in a like manner. In operation, as the trigger 55 is pulled,the motion thereof is transmitted to the extension 52 of the auxiliarysear 8, forcing it to the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, until such point isreached that the surface 49 slides 01T of the surface 50 of sear lil,allowing the striker spring to move the sear away from the line ofmovement of the impact iring device. At this point, the movement of thesear downwardly, acting upon the sloping surface d3 o f the auxiliarysear 48, will tend to move the auxiliary sear still further, andmovement thereof takes place because of the spring 5'! and looseconnection at 53 in the upper part of the trigger 55, the trigger havingbeen stopped by stop means 5l immediately upon the release of the searlil. It is seen that a smooth sliding action is provided with a smallmovement of the trigger only, the auxiliary sear being carried furtherbecause of the yielding connection between the auxiliary sear and thetrigger. The spring also serves to return the auxiliary Sear toeffective position.

As noted above for Figs. l and 2, the force exerted by surface 59 of theSear upon surface 49 of the pivoted sear is small due to the angle ofengagement of the striker with the sear and the sear spring 6l. thepoint of contact of surfaces 49 and 50 is more remote from the pivot 25than is the point of engagement of the sear with the striker, thusfurther reducing the pressure existent between surfaces 49 and 5l). y

A still further modification is found in Fig, 4 wherein the sear E@ ispivoted at 26 in a manner similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 3, and isurged downwardly by the action of the striker spring when it is cocked.A sear spring 65 tends to move the sear upwardly to eiective position,but is weaker than the striker spring and the angles of engagement aresuch that the striker spring will overcome this upon the release of thesear.

An auxiliary pivoted Sear 68, pivoted at 59, engages surface 'lll ofsear 64 at 1l. A connecting link or strut 'l2 is loosely mounted inappropriate apertures 73 and 'ld in the auxiliary sear 68 and trigger 15respectively. A spring l5, which may be in the form of a substantiallycircular a wire, slidably passes through an aperture 'l'l extendingthrough the auxiliary sear 68. The opposite end of the spring is xed andmay be l'attached to an adjustable means 'I8 by having the end of thespring turned around a reduced portion 'i9 of the screw 18. The springmay be made square or other equivalent shape if desired. The trigger 'l5is provided with a trigger adjusting means 8D anda stop pin 8|. Theaction of these is similar to that previously described for Figs. l to 3inclusive. The stop pin 8.! may be tightly iitted into an aperture, suchas 82 in the trigger i5, there being provided a suitable abutment 33against 'which it acts. In the adjustment of this type of stop means,the stop pin is inserted in aperture 82 and allowed to extend furtherthan the final adjusted position requires, the t being such that the pinremains in place. Then the adjusting means 8S is advanced until themechanism releases the striker, the stop pin having contact- As is shownin this modification x ed the abutment 83 "and there lbeing vsuilicientforce'exerted by screw 80 to force the pin into the aperture-82.Consequently, when the striker isrelefased, the stop pin 8l will-occupythe correct position in the aperture 82 and in relation to abutment 83so that the trigger will `not move after release of the striker. It isapparent that in the event readjustment is necessary that the pin 8| maybe again driven outwardly and the operation repeated, the fit betweenthe pin and aperture being such that the force exerted on the trigger infiring the weapon will not disturb the relationship.

In operation, assuming that the striker is cocked and held in place bythe sear 64, a pull on the trigger will tend to rotate the auxiliarysear 68 through the loosely'mounted connecting link l2. As soon assurface l! has passed the edge of Il), the sear will rotate -about itspivot and the downward movement thereof will rotate auxiliary sear 68further about its pivot, the loosely mounted connecting link 'l2allowing this without further movement of trigger 'l5 which, in thepreferred adjustment, will stop at the instant the sear is released. I

The spring'l, as previously stated, is slidably held in the aperture 'llof the pivoted sear 58. Referring particularly now to Fig. 5, the fulllines indicate the position ofthe pivoted sear when in the eiective orholding position for the sear 54. When the trigger is pulled the pivotedsear 68 is rotated counter clockwise, the motion of the trigger beingtransmitted through the loosely `mounted link l2, whereby the springwill be flexed upwardly as at 18, shown exaggerated in dotted lines inFig. 5, the spring sliding through the aperture as depicted. It is notedthat the aperture 11 of the pivoted sear is close to the pivot 69, sothat the rotating motion of the pivoted sear imparts considerable bendto the spring. The iiexingr of the spring puts a tension upon thepivoted sear tending to return it to its original position. As soon asthe sear has been returned upwardly by the sear spring 65 after theparts have been cocked or are in their red position, the spring 16 willreturn the pivoted sear 6-8 to its eiective or holding position for thesea-r 64 because the spring will tend to straighten out and cannot 'sodo until the pivoted sear has returned to the initial position. Theaperture through the pivoted sear closely approximates the diameter orsize of the spring 'I6 so that the rotary motion of the pivoted searwill properly ex the spring l5. The opposite end of the spring 'I6 isheld as described by the adjusting screw '18, and by moving the screw 18downwardly (as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5), it is apparent that moretension is placed upon the pivoted sear, tending to return it to itseffective position, which therefore will require more pressure to beplaced upon the trigger to release the pivoted sear and thus govern thepull necessary to be given the trigger.

As it has Ipreviously been explained in connection with Figs. l to 4,the force existent between surfaces 'lll and l will be small so that thetrigger pull will be smoothand the force necessary to be exerted thereonmay be accurately governed by the tension placed upon spring 16 by meansof the adjusting screw '18. In each of the modications of Figs, l to 5,the bolt may be taken from the gun by pulling on the trigger, therebyreleasing the auxiliary sear and .jerking the bolt backwards, the usualstop, such as shown in Loomis, No. 2,125,350, thereon forcing the seardownwardly and allowing its withdrawal from the gun. Similarly, when itis desired to return the bolt to the gun, the trigger may be -helddisplaced and the bolt put into the gun, the

sear again allowing the passage thereover by the bolt stop.

If the parts are mounted in a frame as shown, it is apparent that theymay be assembled and adjusted in part independently of the gun intowhich they are to be placed.

It is evident that the engaging surfaces of the various parts may bemade square, if desired, and without particular care in the finishthereof due to the sliding action of the parts.

It can be seen therefore that a trigger mecha-- nism has been providedherein which may bc easily constructed and assembled and yet has all ofthe desirable attributes of a trigger mechanism required on a weapon tobe used for accurate Inarksmanship. The smoothness of pull required, thesmall force existent between the faces to be disengaged, the ease ofadjustment. the small travel necessary, the lack of overtravel, and theinherent safety of the trigger make it particularly desirable forweapons to be used where accurate marksmanship is required.

It is to be understood that the specific embodiments of the inventiondescribed are typical and illustrative only and are susceptible toembodiment in a variety of forms, all falling within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a firearm, in combination, a spring impelled striker; a searnormally engaging said striker, the sear and striker being soconstructed and arranged that the sear is urged away from the striker; arestraining means in contact with said sear; a pivoted trigger; meanscarried and guided by said trigger for transmitting movement of thetrigger to the restraining means, said movement transmitting means beingsupported by and separably connected to said restraining means wherebythe latter may be moved by said sear independently of said trigger;means to limit the movement of the trigger to a relatively small amount;and means on said sear for moving the restraining means after the searhas been released while the trigger is pulled.

2. In a firearm, in combination, a spring impelled striker; a pivotedscar normaly engaging said striker, the sear and striker being soconstructed and arranged that the sear is urged away from the striker,said sear having a planar surface, said striker spring tending to movesaid sear to ineffective position; a restraining means having a planarsurface normally abutting said Sear planar surface; a support for saidrestraining means, said support lying in a plane substantiallyperpendicular to one of said planar surfaces; a pivoted trigger;separablesconnections from said trigger to said restraining meanswhereby movement of the trigger is transmitted positively to therestraining means during initial movement, the separable connectionscomprising a strut supported by said restraining means and separablyconnected to one of said parts to be connected; and a spring connectedto said restraining means urging said restraining means toward saidtrigger thereby permitting additional movement of the restraining meansby said sear independently of said trigger; and means on said sear formoving the restraining means after the sear has been released while saidtrigger is pulled.

3. In a firearm, in combination, a spring impelled striker; a pivotedsear normally engaging said striker and having a planar surface, thesear and striker being so constructed and arranged that said strikerspring tends to move said sear away from the striker to ineffectiveposition; a restraining means having a planar surface normally abuttingsaid sear planar surface; a support for said restraining means, saidsupport 1ying in a plane substantially perpendicular to one of saidplanar surfaces; a pivoted trigger; separable connections between saidtrigger and said restraining means, said separable connectionscomprising a thrust member supported by said restraining means andnormally abutting and supported for movement relative to one of theparts to be connected; a spring member normally holding said part incontact with said thrust member but adapted to yield to enable saidrelative movement; and means on said sear for movingr the restrainingmeans after the sear has been released while said trigger is pulled.

4. In a firearm, a spring biased striker; a pivoted sear therefor; aspring urging the sear into eective position, said last-mentioned springbeing weaker than the first-mentioned spring; a pivoted restrainingmeans for the sear having a spring therefor tending to move therestraining means to effective position; a pivoted trigger; separableconnections between said trigger and restraining means, said separableconnections being supported and carried by said restraining means andsaid trigger, whereby said last-mentioned spring can be overcome,thereby rotating the restraining means to ineffective position andreleasing the sear so that the first-mentioned spring will move the searto ineffective position; and means on said sear for moving said searrestraining means independently of said trigger after said restrainingmeans has been moved -by said trigger to Sear releasing position.

5. In a firearm, a spring biased striker; a pivoted Sear therefor, theengagement of the sear and striker being inherently unstable so that thestriker spring tends to move the sear to ineective position; a pivotedrestraining means for maintaining the sear in effective position; aspring tending to maintain said restraining means in effective position,said spring comprising a wire one end of which slidably passes throughahole in the restraining means close to the pivot thereof; an adjustableholding means for the end of the vwire away from the restraining means,said wire being substantially straight when the restraining means is ineffective position and being flexed when the restraining means moved toineffective position.

6. In a firearm, a pivoted trigger therefor, a tightly fitting pincarried in an aperture in the trigger, an abutment for said pin to limitthe movement of the trigger in one direction, a readily adjustable meansto limit the movement of the trigger in the opposite direction, saidadjustable means being movable to position the pin in said aperture byadvancing the trigger and pin against said abutment.

'7. In a firearm, in combination; a spring impelled striker; a pivotedtrigger; a pivoted sear normally engaging said striker, the sear andstriker being so constructed and arranged that the sear is urged awayfrom the striker; a slidably lmounted restraining means for normallyengaging said scar; connecting means between said restraining means andtrigger, said connecting means being loosely supported by said triggerto positively transmit initial movement of the trigger to therestraining means; yieldable means connected between said trigger andrestraining means to allow movement of the restraining meansindependently of the trigger and means on said sear to move saidrestraining means while l the trigger is pulled.

8. In a rearm, in combination; a pivoted trigger; a spring impelledstriker; a, pivoted sear nore mally engaging said striker, the sear andstriker being so constructed and arranged that the sear is urged awayfrom the striker, said sear having a planar surface; a slidably mountedrestraining means having a planar surface abutting said sear planarsurface; a. support for slidably guiding said restraining means relativeto said sear planar surface, said support lying in a plane substantiallyperpendicular to one of said planar surfaces; connecting means betweensaid restraining means and trigger, said connecting means being looselysupported by said trigger to positively transmit initial movement of thetrigger to the restraining means; yieldable means connected between saidtrigger and restraining means to allow moving of the restraining meansindependently of the trigger; and means on said sear for moving therestraining means after the sea-r has been released while the trigger ispulled.

JOHN B. SWEANY.

